A 20-YEAR-OLD man appeared in court accused of brutally stabbing his step-gran to death in Ellesmere Port.
Jack Alan Huxley, of no fixed address but said to be from the Chester area, appeared at Chester Magistrates Court after allegedly killing 63-year-old Janis Dundas, nee Bell, in the early hours of Friday, April 5.
He is also accused of stealing her Peugot 206 car and damaging it after crashing into a wall on the same morning, and of possession of a kitchen knife when he was arrested on Regent Street in Ellesmere Port.
The step-son of Mrs Dundas’s daughter, Huxley gave no indication of plea as he took the stand, appearing calm and smiling, and was remanded in custody to appear at Chester Crown Court on April 29.
He was originally arrested on suspicion of stealing a car, possession of cannabis and driving while unfit through drugs after allegedly mounting the kerb and crashing into parked cars at 5.25am on Atherton Road.
He fled the scene but was soon arrested.
Police made the grim discovery of Mrs Dundas’s body at her home just over an hour later and he was re-arrested on suspicion of her murder.
Cheshire Constabulary spokeswoman Rachel Hayes said: “Janis had sustained a number of knife injuries that sadly resulted in her death.”
A Home Office post-mortem examination took place on Saturday and a second post mortem was ordered, expected to take place this week before an inquest is opened.
Anyone with any information is urged to call Cheshire police on 101 quoting incident number 109 of April 5 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
